CESO Communications

Bob Noyed left a short career as a starving journalist to pursue a 30 plus year career in school communications. He accepted his first school communications job because, well, he needed a job. This gainful employment quickly turned into a passion for public education, and he has not looked back. He served as director of communications for a handful of districts in suburban Minneapolis (Minn.) before joining CESO Communications in July 2019.

He has been a member and leader of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) including service as president in 2006-2007, as well as the Minnesota School Public Relations Association (MinnSPRA), where he served as president twice. He writes and speaks about school communications to anyone who will listen. He has a deep dislike for the status quo and is known for more than his fair share of crazy ideas (some of the craziest ones actually worked). He loves wine, food, travel and can easily be talked into skipping work to take in an afternoon baseball game. He lives in the St. Paul suburbs with his wife Susan, and more wine than two people should own.

Julie Thannum, APR, loves solving problems and is passionate about involving key stakeholders – especially teachers and students – in the decisions that affect them most. She has more than 30 years of experience in crisis communications, school safety and public engagement and is past president of both the National School Public Relations Association and the Texas School Public Relations Association. With a keen eye toward conflict resolution, Julie knows that earning trust in education involves truth and transparency over time. She helps mentor communications professionals and empowers school leaders to find solutions to everyday problems by leading with integrity, inviting internal and external feedback and focusing on the end game.

Her expertise includes launching strategic communications programs, raising revenue for the classroom through corporate partnerships, and creating target messaging for your school safety program. She’s known in north Texas as #SAFEdragon after successfully writing, implementing and marketing her district’s crisis management response plan. Julie’s resiliency and self-confidence are best demonstrated by her lifelong commitment as a Chicago Cubs fan. It’s no surprise that she is an Enneagram 8. She and husband, Scott, reside in Texas with their teen son, Jackson Thor, and paw pals, Loki and Meeko. No doubt the Thannums are avid Marvel and Disney fans. They also have two adult daughters and a son-in-law who remarkably still find it fun to hang out with their parents. Julie loves reading fiction, binge-watching Netflix and traveling, especially when the trip involves ocean/beach views, walks through Central Park or shopping in Downtown Disney. She’s very passionate about her air-fryer, but if you know what’s good for you, it might be best to avoid that topic all together.

Justin Dearing has been telling stories since he walked into his first Media Technology class as a junior in high school. After teaching film and radio for several years, Justin made the jump to school public relations. He has served in a communications role in multiple school districts in the DFW metroplex. Justin remains an active member of TSPRA and has been recognized for his work in social media and visual storytelling. Additionally, he is the co-host of the award-winning podcast School PR Happy Hour. When he isn’t at work, Justin enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, Caty, and daughter, Kinleigh, catching a Dallas Mavericks or Dallas Wings game, binging the latest Marvel content, and participating in the most over-the-top fantasy baseball league around.

CESO was Nicole Kirby, APR’s first new job in more than two decades, after 23 years leading the communications program for the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Missouri. She came to CESO with a passion for authenticity, transparency and public education.

She served as president of the National School Public Relations Association, as well as earlier terms as NSPRA regional vice president and the president of the Missouri School Public Relations Association.

She is an NSPRA Learning and Liberty Legacy Leader, and she received the NSPRA Front-Runner Award, the NSPRA Award of Excellence for publications, the MOSPRA Professional of the Year Award and the MOSPRA Distinguished Service Award. In 2019, she received the NSPRA Gold Medallion, the school public relations profession’s top award for programs, for her comprehensive, strategic, year-round communication program.

Kirby has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Kansas, and her accreditation in public relations.

She and her husband, Rob, live in Fairway, Kansas – just a few blocks from the Missouri state line – with their son, William, and their dog, Bentley.

After a fulfilling college softball career and traveling around Europe after graduation, Coley’s now mother-in-law decided it was time for her to find a job. The suburban Minneapolis district where her mother-in-law worked as a principal was hiring a communication and graphic design specialist and Coley jumped at the opportunity. Eight years and lots of experience later, Coley joined her friend and mentor, Bob, as a part of the CESO Communication team in November 2019. She has been a member of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) and the Minnesota School Public Relations Association (MinnSPRA), where she is currently serving as secretary.

She is a self-proclaimed branding nerd and loves to take a logo and bring it to life in districts. To every project, she brings a unique skill set – marrying a talent for design with mad skills in project management and a solid foundation in communication essentials. When she’s not on a softball field coaching, you can find her doing DIY home projects, traveling, behind a camera, cheering on the Twins and Wild or walking her 100 pound chocolate lab (who should’ve been named Moose, but his real name is Avery). She lives in the Minneapolis suburbs with her husband and moose, I mean, dog.

Brett Clark has more than 20 years experience in school communications marketing, strategic planning and community engagement in Missouri and Illinois districts. Along with his work with CESO Communication, Brett is also the director of communications for Maine Township High School District 207 in suburban Chicago. In addition, he is a former school board member in his local community. While he lives and works in the Chicago area, don’t mention the Cubs – he’s a Cardinals fan. You are welcome to bring up the Bears … but only if you want to hear a diatribe on their lowly history outside of the ‘85 team. Brett has worked for school districts, universities and an educational non-profit. He has served as a National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) regional vice president and writes and speaks on a variety of school communication topics. He lives with his wife and two sons in suburban Chicago.

After a near five-year sentence in the woeful world of corporate marketing and public relations, Chris Tennill found his true calling in the world of school communications. He is a nationally-recognized leader who has spent the last 20 years directing the communications efforts for one of the top-ranked school districts in Missouri and the Midwest. Chris is a go-to strategic advisor in the areas of crisis management, media relations and public/community engagement. He believes when the work of a PR professional is done well it often goes unseen. His passion for mentoring drove him to develop programs to support his Missouri colleagues and he currently facilitates programming for the National School Public Relations Association’s (NSPRA) New Professionals program. He has served in state-level leadership roles with the Missouri School Public Relations Association and nationally on NSPRA’s Executive Board.

When he’s not explaining to a school administrator why we don’t need to “make the logo bigger,” you’ll find him on the pitch coaching a club soccer team in St. Louis, in his backyard (near one of his two smokers or his grill) doing magical things with some large slab of meat or in the kitchen making some type of hand-crafted, old-world sausage or charcuterie. Chris lives in the St. Louis area with his wife and two daughters.

Growing up in a house with nine people and one bathroom, Jim Cummings, APR, learned early in life how to handle crisis and hostile environments. As a recovered Philadelphia sports writer, he also is used to being booed. Jim has worked for more than 30 years in developing and executing strategic public relations programs for three Arizona school districts. Jim has been a member and leader in the National School Public Relations Association, where he served as President in 2014-2015, as well as the Arizona School Public Relations Association where he served as president twice. He is the winner of multiple ASPRA and NSPRA awards, including NSPRA’s 2012 Barry Gaskins Mentor Legacy Award.

In addition to his body of work for three school districts, he is a frequent and popular speaker and presenter at seminars, and his high-energy, content-rich and “hold on to your hat” style has garnered many invitations to speak at conferences and workshops. A glutton for punishment, he remains loyal to Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Flyers and Phillies. He lives in Arizona with his wife and a cat who he has turned into a Facebook and Instagram star.

Susan Brott was a lost soul, finding difficulty marrying the push and pull of the left brain/right brain struggle for dominance. After double majoring in mathematics and communications, she went on to attain her graduate degree in political rhetoric and public address, where somehow she was able to blend her passion for analytics and politics, writing such enthralling rhetorical analyses on works such as Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem and the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. Being the daughter of public school teachers, Susan found her way back to education securing her first school communications job in suburban St. Paul (Minn.).

Over 20 years and four Twin Cities suburban districts later, Susan joined the CESO Communications team in April 2020. She has been an active member of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), including facilitating annual workshops for new school communications professionals, and the Minnesota School Public Relations Association (MinnSPRA), where she served as treasurer (duh, math major) and president. Susan enjoys all aspects of strategic communications, and especially enjoys facilitating and engaging stakeholders to elevate their voice and help them feel valued and heard. She is outspoken in her passion for diversity, inclusion and equity and enjoys coaching others on their own learning journey. Her biggest pet peeve is when she hears people say that something won’t work because “we’ve tried it before,” which leads to her penchant for always asking questions and seeking deeper meaning, often to the exhaustion of her husband, Bob. She enjoys yoga, TRX, knitting and cooking, and often seeks energy in the stillness.

Susan has always had a passion for public education. She has served as a trusted advisor to K-12 school districts, technology centers, colleges, universities, and state and national education associations for more than 40 years. Susan knows what it takes to handle any communications challenge. And when she doesn’t have the answers, she taps her network of associates across North America to figure things out. Along with her consulting role at CESO Communications, Susan is the director of marketing and communication for Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma. As a past-president of the National School Public Relations Association, she enjoys building collaborative relationships with clients and peers. She thrives in the constantly changing environment of effective communications. Susan is always up for learning something new, and has extensive experience in strategy, research, brand management, leadership, marketing and crisis communications. She is quick to analyze and synthesize information, form a big-picture perspective and determine the steps to arrive at solutions. She is also quick to build strong, effective partnerships with her clients.

Cara Zacny is a graphic designer with a strong belief in design as a problem-solving tool, as a connection between ideas and reality, and as a method for improving the relationship between people, products, and information. With more than four years of experience in design and two and a half of those in school communications at Park Hill School District in Kansas City, MO, Cara knows how to develop and maintain a brand, utilize design concepts to communicate information and create a wide variety of eye-catching digital and print pieces. With proficiency in vector illustration, photo editing, publication and page layout, motion graphics, and video editing, she strives to help clients achieve development and growth goals through design.

Though she often has her head in the Adobe Creative Cloud, both during and after work, she also loves hanging out with her family and friends, listening to and playing all kinds of music, collecting vinyl records, building things out of wood and dabbling in video games. She is so excited for the opportunity to travel everywhere now that work can be mobile.

After working in a suburban North Texas school district for six years, Hayley joined the CESO team as a Communications Strategist in October 2021. Hayley loves problem solving and using creative solutions to help tell a district’s story, especially through photography and website design. Hayley has been active in the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) and particularly enjoys networking and building relationships with colleagues who offer years of experience and insight. When she is not working, Hayley enjoys traveling, watching movies, running, and cheering on the Baylor Bears and the Texas Rangers. Hayley lives with her husband in Fort Worth, TX.

Since joining CESO in 2019, Julie Rodriguez has assisted in the creation and execution of strategic communication plans for clients. Leading their digital presence, Julie has created social media and article content to align with districts’ goals, engaging audiences and enhancing digital communication. Along with these ongoing efforts, she has implemented social media advertisement campaigns to reach new audiences and increase enrollment. She has been integral in building new websites, driving traffic and engagement, and marketing clients by merging strategy with creativity. Julie enjoys adventuring outdoors, a pastime that became fundamental to her years exploring the Pacific Northwest. She is often chasing waterfalls, creating music, or cuddling someone’s dog.

In August 2022, Kristin joined the CESO Communications team with more than 10 years of experience in public relations and community engagement. She has a passion for bringing communities together through quality and consistent communications all while putting students first. With a keen eye for details, strong project management and communications skills, her natural drive is to exceed client expectations.

For the past five years, Kristin worked at a high school district in the western suburbs of Chicago. Prior to school communications, she worked at an agency in Omaha, Neb. serving clients in the arts, education and public health industries focusing on their brand and communications needs.

Kristin is an active member of the Illinois National School Public Relations Association (INSPRA); and most recently served on the committees for the NSPRA Seminar hosted in Chicago and the organization’s annual Distinguished Service Awards.

While not working, Kristin enjoys taking walks with her husband and two young children, going on vacation (although with kids, it is more like “relocation”), and hosting dinners for family and friends. As an Illinois transplant with no allegiance to Chicago sports, she is a lifelong KC Royals fan.

Kyle Noyed is a storyteller and strategist focused on effective and consistent messaging that earns community trust and drives the organization’s mission. With more than eight years in public relations and communications consulting, Kyle has seen a variety of situations and challenges, and helped school districts and other organizations tell their stories. Kyle’s experience includes working on a number of operating levy and bond referendum campaigns, communications auditing and planning, as well as managing the day-to-day communications efforts for a variety of organizations. He thrives on the fast-paced world of communications and can find the right method to share the right message with experience in website creation, social media campaigns, email newsletter campaigns, political campaigns, and more.

Liz is a written and visual storyteller, and frequently combines the two mediums on social media, website design and print publications. Bringing over five years of professional public relations experience, two of those years in schools, Liz can confidently tell your story, conveying personality and tone to make your voice seem effortless yet powerful.

From journalism to corporate communications to event planning and sales, Liz has seen the full breadth of where a journalism degree could take her. In 2018, she decided to take a leap of faith and move to Thailand where she would pivot once again and teach kindergarten to students in Chiang Mai, located in the northern province of the country, for just under two years.

Realizing that she could combine the power of storytelling with her experience as an educator was how she found her place in school public relations. It’s the possibility of learning something new about a student, parent, staff or community member that inspires Liz everyday. If genuine curiosity doesn’t drive good storytelling, then what does?

When not writing, you can usually see Liz zooming around on her yellow scooter, drinking copious amounts of coffee, working at her local farmers market, tending her vegetable garden and dreaming of the day she and her partner will own a dog (for now we just visit dog parks and pretend we’re dog owners).

Olivia Doeden joins the CESO team ready to support the strategic communication efforts of school districts. Prior to joining CESO in December 2021, Olivia has had two years of experience in marketing public and private education. From personalizing the prospective family experience to coordinating marketing initiatives to attract and retain students, she is skilled in maintaining professional standards and consistent clarity for all communications. Her experiences emphasize her ability to effectively adapt to the ever changing school day and problem solve quickly. Olivia is a self-proclaimed ABBA superfan who enjoys the outdoors by hiking or taking nature photography, playing her violin, and taking part in the hygge lifestyle (the Danish art of enjoying life’s simplest pleasures through cozy candle-light and unplugged relaxation).

Samantha Chin is a visual storyteller focused on helping districts get noticed amid all of the online noise. Whether it’s creating and designing websites, videos, print publications, social media campaigns, e-newsletters or any other form of digital or print communications, Sam’s creative talents bring ideas to life. With over seven years of experience working in a small Twin Cities suburban school district, Sam knows how to create an engaged social media following from scratch, use infographics to illustrate complex ideas, and could probably develop a website in her sleep. She has an eye for capturing special moments through photography and elevates our storytelling with her images and videos. When she’s not photographing students and teachers, Sam can be found snapping shots at weightlifting and CrossFit competitions (or participating in them herself), gardening in her backyard, traveling the world or watching sci-fi movies.